First LC Purchase Help? (1 Viewer)

[TheDoggLC]

Newly registered member here. Have had a dream for many years since driving an ‘86 Cruiser around for a summer in high school of owning my own. For the past couple years I have been perusing the online world curiously looking but never close to buying. Then this one showed up in my area. Am going to look at it but wanted to see what others thought prior to my looking at it. Here’s some info from the post and a few pictures attached. Wondering what looks good/what looks concerning?


1983
Desmogged
142,000 miles
2.5" OME lift
New 33" tires
New front end rebuild
New shifter bushings
New hoses and gaskets
New oil pan and gasket
New door panels
New cargo panels
New seats
New carpet
New headliner
New stereo
There are rust blisters under the paint up around the rain gutter and on the front of the hood. Underneath it looks pretty good, very very minimal rust.

 

[TheDoggLC]

More Pics

 

[zeeklafreek]

What's the asking price? Have you checked the VIN# for a vehicle history?

 

[cruisermatt]

Questions I always ask prospective buyers:
1a. What is your total budget for this vehicle, so purchase, maintinance/repairs after purchase, and long term maintinance/repairs?
1b. What percentage of repairs or work will you be doing yourself vs. using a shop?
2. How many other examples have you sat in and test driven?
3. What are you goals for the use of this vehicle? (daily driver? secondary fun hobby vehicle? only vehicle? off-road only? restore and win car shows? etc)

Everyone has different answers to these so you really need to be able to answer all four of these honestly, otherwise you will just get random opinons from others who all have their own versions of these critera themselves.

 

[Beams37]

I second what was already said. I would also say the rust on the roof/gutter area is biggest concern.

 

[TheDoggLC]

Thanks for the replies, all helpful. The asking price right now is $24k.

-I would say my total budget for the vehicle would be a bit of a moving target…I plan to have whichever cruiser I do end up buying for the long run and it would certainly be my hobby car. Not a daily driver.
-I have always tried to do my own repairs on my previous/current vehicles (mainly VWs and a Taco) but some things are beyond my level. But would hope through this forum and an intense, albeit naive, interest in cruisers that I could learn as I go to mainly work on it myself.
- I have sat in or driven just a handful. Drove one for a year about 15 years ago which ignited the interest.
- Long term goal would for it to be a fixed up/polished hobby vehicle.

I agree with the last post about the rain gutter rust. I have read on here that whatever rust you see, times it by 3. I like that rule of thumb and I’m sure it varies vehicle to vehicle but I suppose my hesitancy is, is there frame and/or body rust that make the above asking price far too much? That’s where I’m getting a bit tripped up.

Probably an impossible question to answer from a few photos but from what I can tell it’s in fairly good shape with a few minor areas of rust…accurate?

 

[yotadude520]

Thanks for the replies, all helpful. The asking price right now is $24k.

-I would say my total budget for the vehicle would be a bit of a moving target…I plan to have whichever cruiser I do end up buying for the long run and it would certainly be my hobby car. Not a daily driver.
-I have always tried to do my own repairs on my previous/current vehicles (mainly VWs and a Taco) but some things are beyond my level. But would hope through this forum and an intense, albeit naive, interest in cruisers that I could learn as I go to mainly work on it myself.
- I have sat in or driven just a handful. Drove one for a year about 15 years ago which ignited the interest.
- Long term goal would for it to be a fixed up/polished hobby vehicle.

I agree with the last post about the rain gutter rust. I have read on here that whatever rust you see, times it by 3. I like that rule of thumb and I’m sure it varies vehicle to vehicle but I suppose my hesitancy is, is there frame and/or body rust that make the above asking price far too much? That’s where I’m getting a bit tripped up.

Probably an impossible question to answer from a few photos but from what I can tell it’s in fairly good shape with a few minor areas of rust…accurate?

For $24k I wouldn't even consider that rig. $10k, maybe. The rust in the roof is a deal killer to me personally.

 

[diesellibrarian]

The undercarriage does look good. It looks like it still has most of the bash guards and heat shields, which is a bonus. Up here in Canada, those things just rust away. In my experience, problem areas for the frame include the rear "c" channels (look for rust jacking in the rearmost section of the frame, on either side of the spare tire), and at the front of the rear axle arch. Crap tends to accumulate there, rusting the frame from the inside out.

As mentioned already, the rusty roof is a big concern. Rust repair is expensive if you can't do the work yourself, and welding the roof can be a big pain, since you would likely need to drop the headliner so that you don't burn your rig to the ground. It looks to me as though this truck has been resprayed, so the question is: what other rust is/was lurking, and how well was it repaired? Take a close look at other known trouble spots: rear wheel arches, rear quarters, rockers. Maybe do the "magnet test" to see if there's bondo there. Look closely at this area:

There's a vertical seam there from the factory. If there's no visible seam, it may be a sign that the area has been poorly repaired/covered with filler.

IMHO, unless you are in for an extensive (and expensive) rust repair project, pass on this rig. For $24k you should be able to find something that is a little more solid, body-wise. Good luck!

 

[Beams37]

$24k seems high for that truck. Have you looked I. The classified section here to see what similar trucks are being listed for?

 

[TheDoggLC]

I have not looked in the classifieds here. I absolutely will though. Appreciate the recommendation.

Thank you @diesellibrarian for that summary. Very helpful. There are some other photos of some rust blistering elsewhere, so I agree, it does seem like the rig was resprayed at some point.

So hard to tell, for someone like me, these days what is reasonable in terms of price. You get on BaT and see rigs getting bid to $17k and not selling and then those polished immaculate rigs going for $80k. Seems like BaT in general is not a great litmus test for sale price in the general/used/FB marketplace market?

 

[klinetime574]

I agree that price is high combined with the roof rust (deal killer for me also). The paint is also concerning. The engine bay is light blue metallic. The exterior is white and gray. One of those engine bay photos appears to be edited heavily to hide that.

Why would they do a new headliner and not fix the roof rust first? This kinda seems like a fast flip for cash IMHO.

 

[DFXR]

Agree with the others - the roof rust is an absolute deal breaker at that price or anywhere near it.

Take a look at the classifieds here, and plan to be patient and keep looking. Some solid 60s have come up recently for much less than $24K, with very transparent sellers.

It's not that everyone selling on here is some kind of angel - it's just that BS'ing your way through a listing on an enthusiast forum generally won't fly.

 

[TheDoggLC]

Well I’ll be damned…those engine bay photos do seemed to be edited. The grass in the background is black & white. Rest of the environment in other photos is in color. Good catch @klinetime574

Very glad that I posted in here. Appreciate all of the input. I will check the classifieds here and make that part of my cruiser search routine

 

[CruiserTrash]

I'm gonna dogpile here and say absolutely not for the asking price. That roof rust repair is going to be extensive - a couple guys here @CenTXFJ60 and @Hokie LX have tackled that and it took many, many, many hours of work. Hokie ended up cutting the entire roof off to fix it. Also, if that kind of rust is coming through a repaint - and it was most certainly repainted - what else is lurking beneath?

The photo of the engine bay makes me REALLY apprehensive for you. The paint on the firewall is gone. Why is everything gray or black? Was there an engine fire at one point? Maybe it's just dirty, I don't know.

Other things:
There aren't any photos of the frame areas most prone to rust. Is the seller hiding those for a reason?
I see at least two vacuum leaks in the engine bay. Maybe three.
The distributor isn't vented, which can lead to corrosion inside.
Coolant hoses readily available from Toyota were replaced with generic stuff. Why? Was somebody in a hurry?
A seam under the rear door was covered with bondo. What does that indicate about the work that was done and how extensive the prior rust was?
Seller claims the front end was rebuilt but it looks like that hasn't been done for a long time, at least 2-3 years and probably more like 4-6 years.
What were they solving for with the new oil pan? Could be as simple as the drain plug stripped out. Could be as complicated as they had a spun bearing. Lots of questions about that.

Sorry to be so critical, but there's a lot of people asking very high prices for stuff that needs a lot of extensive work, like this one. This isn't a terrible truck, it would be a great driver or a great camping rig, but I just don't think it brings home $24k. Maybe $4-8k in my uneducated opinion, depending on the engine compression and a few other things. At that range you'll have budget to get things addressed properly. Wait and find the right one at the right price! It sounds like your heart is in this, but try to make the decision with your brain. Your heart will be happier over the long term that way!

Edit: The engine bay photo is photoshopped or something. Good call Alex @klinetime574!

Also, what the heck is the thing around the front driveshaft? DIY bash guard?

 

[diesellibrarian]

Also, what the heck is the thing around the front driveshaft? DIY bash guard?

NHRA driveshaft loop? haha.

 

[Old Nick]

Newly registered member here. Have had a dream for many years since driving an ‘86 Cruiser around for a summer in high school of owning my own. For the past couple years I have been perusing the online world curiously looking but never close to buying. Then this one showed up in my area. Am going to look at it but wanted to see what others thought prior to my looking at it. Here’s some info from the post and a few pictures attached. Wondering what looks good/what looks concerning?


1983
Desmogged
142,000 miles
2.5" OME lift
New 33" tires
New front end rebuild
New shifter bushings
New hoses and gaskets
New oil pan and gasket
New door panels
New cargo panels
New seats
New carpet
New headliner
New stereo
There are rust blisters under the paint up around the rain gutter and on the front of the hood. Underneath it looks pretty good, very very minimal rust.

View attachment 3901518

View attachment 3901519

View attachment 3901520

View attachment 3901521

View attachment 3901522

I'll share my experience. Like you, I always wanted a 60 series Land Cruiser. I bought a 62 a little over a decade ago... Champagne metallic with port-installed "woody" vinyl (and it's a poverty package... manual everything except the tranny). It was a "beauty" (and I didn't pay anywhere near that $24k asking price). Anyway, I made the purchase before I found Mud, and worse... on a whim. The fresh paint started bubbling within 6-8 months. And, major systems failed, which cost $$$ to sort out. With the help of the FSM (and occasionally with the help of a bud who owns a shop locally), it's been running great for years. But the time, effort and bucks it took to make it that way were a stupid tax for yours truly.

Had to learn to weld too (cutting out the cancer and welding in fresh steel). The rig had rust in all of the usual places... but none at the gutters. Seeing the pic that you posted of the gutters - just like everyone above noted - is a major no-go. The headliner will have to be pulled, as I'd bet good money that when that area(s) of bubbling rust/paint is sanded down that you'll be left with Swiss cheese. Trying to weld in new steel with the head-liner installed would almost certainly lead to a fire.

Keep looking. And... buy from someone here. Stay away from flippers.

 

[TheDoggLC]

I'll share my experience. Like you, I always wanted a 60 series Land Cruiser. I bought a 62 a little over a decade ago... Champagne metallic with port-installed "woody" vinyl (and it's a poverty package... manual everything except the tranny). It was a "beauty" (and I didn't pay anywhere near that $24k asking price). Anyway, I made the purchase before I found Mud, and worse... on a whim. The fresh paint started bubbling within 6-8 months. And, major systems failed, which cost $$$ to sort out. With the help of the FSM (and occasionally with the help of a bud who owns a shop locally), it's been running great for years. But the time, effort and bucks it took to make it that way were a stupid tax for yours truly.

Had to learn to weld too (cutting out the cancer and welding in fresh steel). The rig had rust in all of the usual places... but none at the gutters. Seeing the pic that you posted of the gutters - just like everyone above noted - is a major no-go. The headliner will have to be pulled, as I'd bet good money that when that area(s) of bubbling rust/paint is sanded down that you'll be left with Swiss cheese. Trying to weld in new steel with the head-liner installed would almost certainly lead to a fire.

Keep looking. And... buy from someone here. Stay away from flippers.

This place is going to be my new bible. I’ve always come on here to look at random posts but glad I joined and posted about this. Really appreciate all your posts and input. Now that I look at some of these photos, especially the engine bay photos being edited to black and white, I couldn’t be more turned off of this cruiser for that price.

Appreciate your story @Old Nick. Certainly sounds like I’m at the stage you were at all those years ago. Have a dream of a nice cruiser to slowly work on over the years and show my kid the ropes and don’t want to get a sour taste from choosing the wrong rig from the jump.

@CruiserTrash I actually appreciate you dog-piling on it! Definitely hard to separate the head and the heart sometimes but I’ve had years of patience to this point so no problem to ditch this one and continue the search!

Appreciate everyone’s input and kindness for a novice!

 

[CruiserTrash]

This place is going to be my new bible. I’ve always come on here to look at random posts but glad I joined and posted about this. Really appreciate all your posts and input. Now that I look at some of these photos, especially the engine bay photos being edited to black and white, I couldn’t be more turned off of this cruiser for that price.

Appreciate your story @Old Nick. Certainly sounds like I’m at the stage you were at all those years ago. Have a dream of a nice cruiser to slowly work on over the years and show my kid the ropes and don’t want to get a sour taste from choosing the wrong rig from the jump.

@CruiserTrash I actually appreciate you dog-piling on it! Definitely hard to separate the head and the heart sometimes but I’ve had years of patience to this point so no problem to ditch this one and continue the search!

Appreciate everyone’s input and kindness for a novice!

You got this. If you truly want one of these there will be work involved (or money if you pay someone for the work), but you can be discerning about what you're buying and what work needs to be done. Keep looking, and definitely check the classifieds here - typically those are trucks that have floated around amongst Mud members so folks are honest and any issues are well known. It's not about finding a 100% perfect truck, it's about honesty.

 

[Hokie LX]

For reference, here's what my roof rust looked like outside vs. what was underneath. Like CruiserTrash said, I removed my whole roof skin to address mine (Best way IMO). I have a thread about it in my signature.

Outside as purchased (untouched)

Lightly Touched...

Ground out...

This doesn't show all the smaller rust holes and underlying rot on the backside that weren't visible from the outside at all. My truck was a TX/AZ truck it's whole life FWIW.

 

[klinetime574]

@CruiserTrash circled in red is the front drive shaft loop. Standard on early FJ60’s aka non-spacer H42’s maybe intended to protect the DC joint? Idk. Had to ditch mine with the H55. It attaches to a bracket off the transmission which changes with the transfer case shifter. Although I think it would still fit; it would not clear the drive shaft when installed.

Also I’m glad you brought up @Hokie LX because that’s the exact roof I was thinking of and couldn’t remember his mud handle. Good thread there too.